Buffer
Tool · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
Buffer is a tool for scheduling and publishing posts in social networks. The API page reports a programmatic interface on GraphQL — the tool's formulation is "One API. Every major social platform". Access to the API is open on all plans, including the free one; the authorization is by an API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header. This is authorization in Buffer's own API, not in the social networks. By what method the social network accounts are connected has not been established: the homepage of the help centre does not disclose the method.
The interface language of the homepage is English; the hreflang markup on the site of the tool declares seven language versions: de, en, es, fr, it, nl, pt. Support, by the pricing page, works by email and is included on all plans, including the free one; a knowledge base and video lessons are also declared.
Which platforms it works with
The "Channels" section on the pricing page lists eleven platforms: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon. There is no separate page buffer.com/channels on the site — the address answers with code 404. An earlier reading of the homepage named ten platforms; the discrepancy is one — Google Business Profile.
Instagram. By the page about Instagram the depth of support depends on the type of account: personal accounts receive only a notification before publication, professional ones (Business and Creator) require a link with a Facebook Page — and only then do auto-publication, analytics and work with comments operate. The requirement of the link is a restriction of the platform itself. Declared are scheduling, analytics (the best time and effective formats), an AI assistant, replies to comments in a single interface.
TikTok. With the same tool the picture is the reverse. The page about TikTok says: "Buffer supports both business and personal TikTok accounts" — a business account is not required, although "TikTok may limit certain features by account type or region". Auto-publication works, "when they meet TikTok's publishing requirements".
LinkedIn. By the page about LinkedIn both a personal profile and a company page are supported: "plan, edit, draft, and schedule posts to your LinkedIn Profile and LinkedIn Company Pages". The formats are text, image, GIF, PDF, video, a link preview and a carousel; carousels and PDF are published automatically.
YouTube. The page about YouTube is devoted entirely to Shorts: the heading of the section is "Schedule YouTube Shorts", Shorts are mentioned 21 times, long video not once. This is an observation, and the silence of the page does not prove the absence of the function. Declared are the scheduling of Shorts, cross-posting to TikTok and Instagram, replies to comments inside the tool, a page of links with auto-updating.
Pricing
All the prices are from the pricing page. There are three plans: Free, Essentials for 5 USD a month and Team for 10 USD a month. The charging is per channel: "You're billed per channel"; channels beyond the tenth cost less. The minimum paid price is 5 USD a month, or 60 USD a year; with annual payment the tool promises two months free. The trial period is 14 days; whether a card is required for it is not indicated on the page.
What is free
The Free plan exists and gives up to three channels and ten scheduled posts per channel (plans). Support by email on the free plan is included. Access to the API, by the API page, is open on all plans too, including the free one — among tools of this kind that is met rarely.
Restrictions
Most of the restrictions come from the platforms, and the tool states this outright.
Trending sounds cannot be added with auto-publication in TikTok: "TikTok's API does not provide access to its full music library" (TikTok) — the source of the restriction is the platform, and a change of tool will not help. Videos with trending sounds or in-app effects are published only by hand through a notification; if the notification is missed, the post remains in the tool and does not go out automatically.
Mentioning companies in LinkedIn is possible only from the posts of a page: "the LinkedIn API only allows for mentioning from LinkedIn Pages, and you can only mention businesses or individuals who follow that page" (LinkedIn). Detailed analytics for company pages is on the paid plans.
A daily limit of publications the tool does not name. About the limits of the platforms the page about Instagram speaks in passing and only as applied to gaps in the data: "some gaps can occur due to Instagram API limits or permission issues". The fact is partial: the page was read in full, and there is no number of the limit in it.
How you earn with it
An affiliate programme is announced — the Buffer Partner and Affiliate Program, also the Referral Partner Program (the page of the programme). The commission: "25% revenue share on qualifying subscription fees for up to twelve (12) months" (terms); on the landing page the rate is the same. The accrual is recurring, but no longer than twelve months from the date of the first subscription or until cancellation by the client (clause 4.1). The payouts go through the Dub Partners platform and Stripe Express, monthly, with payment within 30 days after the end of the month (clause 4.3). Admission is by application with the company's approval; paid advertising, coupon sites, self-referral and sub-affiliate networks are forbidden (clauses 2 and 3.2).
What it will not do
There will be no auto-publication to a personal Instagram account — the tool writes that for such accounts only notifications before publication are available. A professional account without a link to a Facebook Page will not publish by itself either.
Extended analytics and summary reports for TikTok the tool does not give — "due to API limitations", and it does not select the best time of publication for TikTok. There is no detailed analytics for a personal LinkedIn profile: only the metrics of comments and likes are available.
The publication of long video on YouTube is not declared on the tool's page — but that is the silence of the page, not a confirmed absence of the function.
The status of an official partner of the platforms the tool does not declare on the homepage: the word "partner" was met there once — in the name of its own affiliate programme.
Five questions the source does not answer: whether approval is required for access to the API; by what method the social network accounts are connected; whether a card is needed for the trial period; what the lifetime of the click tag is; what the minimum sum for payout is — in the FAQ it is said only that the payouts go after the minimum payout amount is reached.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
Platforms
Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), YouTube, Threads, Pinterest, Google Business Profile, Bluesky, Mastodon
The «Channels» section. There is no buffer.com/channels address on the site (404). This refines the earlier lower-bound estimate supported_platforms_detected (10 platforms): Google Business Profile has been added
source, checked 2026-07-28
bluesky,facebook,instagram,linkedin,mastodon,pinterest,threads,tiktok,twitter,youtube (10)
The method was VERIFIED on this service: the path found turned out to be a genuine platform support page, not a blog article. It remains a lower-bound estimate
source, checked 2026-07-27
How the money works here
Affiliate programme. yes: Buffer Partner and Affiliate Program (Referral Partner Program)
the program page, with the terms section under /legal
source, checked 2026-08-04
Commission. 25% revenue share on qualifying subscription fees for up to twelve (12) months
the landing page gives the same rate: 25% monthly commission for 12 months
source, checked 2026-08-04
One-off or recurring. recurring, but for no more than 12 months from the date of the first subscription or until the client cancels
clause 4.1 of the terms
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. Dub Partners platform, payouts through Stripe Express; accrual monthly, payment within 30 days after the end of the month
clause 4.3 of the terms
source, checked 2026-08-04
Who is admitted. by application with the company's approval; paid advertising, coupon sites, self-referral and sub-affiliate networks are prohibited
clauses 2 and 3.2 of the terms
source, checked 2026-08-04
Where the terms are. https://buffer.com/legal#partner-program-terms-of-use
the Partner Program Terms of Use inside the general /legal page
source, checked 2026-08-04
Payout minimum. not stated as a number
the FAQ says payouts follow once the minimum payout amount is reached; the amount is named neither on the landing page nor in the terms
source, checked 2026-08-04
Pricing
yes
The Free plan
source, checked 2026-07-27
up to 3 channels; 10 scheduled posts per channel
source, checked 2026-07-27
per channel
«You're billed per channel»; channels beyond the first 10 are cheaper
source, checked 2026-07-27
5 USD / month (60 USD / year)
The Essentials plan, per channel
source, checked 2026-07-27
Free; Essentials 5 USD/month; Team 10 USD/month
source, checked 2026-07-27
14 days
source, checked 2026-07-27
2 months free on annual billing
source, checked 2026-07-27
Limits and restrictions
platform limits are mentioned only in passing and only in relation to gaps in messages: «some gaps can occur due to Instagram API limits or permission issues»; no daily publishing cap is named
The Instagram support page was checked (11,913 characters)
source, checked 2026-07-28
API access
yes, GraphQL
«One API. Every major social platform»
source, checked 2026-07-27
available on all plans, including the free one
RARE: an API on the free plan
source, checked 2026-07-27
an API key as a Bearer token in the Authorization header
This is authorization in the Buffer API, NOT in the social networks
source, checked 2026-07-27
personal accounts — ONLY a notification before publishing; professional accounts (Business/Creator) require a link to a Facebook Page for auto-publishing, analytics and working with comments
DEPTH OF SUPPORT: «supports Instagram» means different things for different account types. The requirement to link a Facebook Page is a platform restriction, not a service one
source, checked 2026-07-27
scheduling, analytics (best time and best-performing formats), content planning with an AI assistant, replying to comments in a single interface
source, checked 2026-07-27
BOTH account types are supported: «Buffer supports both business and personal TikTok accounts»; a business account is NOT required, although «TikTok may limit certain features by account type or region»
The opposite of Instagram in the same Buffer, where a personal account gives only notifications
source, checked 2026-07-27
auto-publishing «when they meet TikTok's publishing requirements»; videos with trending sounds or in-app effects are published ONLY manually, through a notification
source, checked 2026-07-27
trending sounds cannot be added when auto-publishing: «TikTok's API does not provide access to its full music library» — a platform restriction, not a service one
The source of the restriction: the platform. Switching services will not help
source, checked 2026-07-27
if the notification is missed, the post stays saved in the service and is NOT published automatically
Important for planning: a miss means no publication
source, checked 2026-07-27
extended analytics and summary reports for TikTok are unavailable «due to API limitations»; automatic best-time-to-post suggestions are not offered for TikTok
source, checked 2026-07-27
BOTH a personal profile AND a company page are supported: «plan, edit, draft, and schedule posts to your LinkedIn Profile and LinkedIn Company Pages»
source, checked 2026-07-27
text, image, GIF, PDF, video, link preview and carousel; carousels and PDFs are published automatically
source, checked 2026-07-27
companies can be mentioned ONLY from page posts: «the LinkedIn API only allows for mentioning from LinkedIn Pages, and you can only mention businesses or individuals who follow that page»
The source of the restriction: the platform
source, checked 2026-07-27
detailed analytics for company pages is on the paid plans; for a personal profile only comment and like metrics are available
The depth of analytics differs by account type
source, checked 2026-07-27
scheduling Shorts, cross-posting to TikTok and Instagram, replying to video comments inside the service, a links page that updates automatically as new uploads appear
source, checked 2026-07-27
required for auto-publishing: professional accounts (Business/Creator) have to be linked to a Facebook Page
Extracted from the general description of support depth while assembling the comparison
source, checked 2026-07-27
depends on the account type: personal — only a notification before publishing; professional — auto-publishing
Extracted from the general description of support depth while assembling the comparison
source, checked 2026-07-27
the page is devoted entirely to Shorts: 21 mentions of Shorts and NOT ONE mention of long-form video. The section heading is «Schedule YouTube Shorts». Support for ordinary videos is not stated on the page
__
source, checked 2026-07-27
Support
email support is included on all plans, including the free one; there is a knowledge base and video tutorials
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
de,en,es,fr,it,nl,pt (7)
Source: the hreflang declaration on the service's website
source, checked 2026-07-27
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions